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So, in spite of our offer to cook Thanksgiving dinner, the in-laws have decided that Mr. BLB and I should spend nearly $500 to fly to Long Island to have Thanksgiving out.

Not my idea of a good time. Or Thanksgiving.

But that is neither here nor there.

Anyone have any experience with Thanksgiving at the Three Village Inn?

Any other ideas for where to go with a crew of 8 ranging in age from 4 to 70 something.

Thanks~!

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So, in spite of our offer to cook Thanksgiving dinner, the in-laws have decided that Mr. BLB and I should spend nearly $500 to fly to Long Island to have Thanksgiving out.

Not my idea of a good time. Or Thanksgiving.

But that is neither here nor there.

Anyone have any experience with Thanksgiving at the Three Village Inn?

Any other ideas for where to go with a crew of 8 ranging in age from 4 to 70 something.

Thanks~!

Having been raised on Long Island, I would never recommend it to anyone under any circumstances. Traveling there to go to a restaurant for Thanksgiving qualifies as abuse. I would tell these mindless in-laws to call Domino's and stay home. Are you at the beck and call of your in-laws? This sounds unreasonable to me, in the extreme.

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Having been raised on Long Island, I would never recommend it to anyone under any circumstances. Traveling there to go to a restaurant for Thanksgiving qualifies as abuse. I would tell these mindless in-laws to call Domino's and stay home. Are you at the beck and call of your in-laws? This sounds unreasonable to me, in the extreme.
:) You know, sometimes you just have to suck it up to make someone else happy. In this case, it is what Mr. BLB wants. (Not the dining out part--he is as pissed as I am about the rejection of our offer to cook...) They did offer to let us cook on Friday--wonder how they would fel if we made a real Thanksgiving to make up for the crappy restaurant one? Probably a bit too passive agressive...

I'll just make Thanksgiving for his birthday over Veteran's Day and again at Christmas.

Sigh...

I did note that Citronelle still has reservations available when there was an offer on the table for them to come to us (also rejected....) Now that would be fun!

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Despite Mr. Slaters legitimate spurn of Wrong Island, consider

Mirabelle in St. James

Kitchen, a Bistro in St. James

Next to the Curry Club in Stony Brook there used be a small place where the classically trained opera singer/chef would come out and sing tunes

La Plage in Wading River

North Fork Table and Inn in Southhold (Gerry Hayden-formerly Aureole and Claudia Flemming -Grammercy Tavern)

The Island gets better as you move out east.

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Despite Mr. Slaters legitimate spurn of Wrong Island, consider

Mirabelle in St. James

Kitchen, a Bistro in St. James

Next to the Curry Club in Stony Brook there used be a small place where the classically trained opera singer/chef would come out and sing tunes

La Plage in Wading River

North Fork Table and Inn in Southhold (Gerry Hayden-formerly Aureole and Claudia Flemming -Grammercy Tavern)

The Island gets better as you move out east.

Will check to see if any of the St. James ones are serving Thanksgiving dinner. Probably will get hooted down but hey... why not check...

Jennifer

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Will check to see if any of the St. James ones are serving Thanksgiving dinner. Probably will get hooted down but hey... why not check...

Jennifer

I have spent many Thanksgivings in New York City. It is one of my favorite days in New York. Restaurants generally offer a nice variation on traditional dinner and you can spend time walking up and down 5th Avenue looking at the windows without fighting the normal tourist crowds. One year we ate at the Sea Grill which abuts the skating rink at Rockefeller Center. It was sooo much fun and the food was really good.

Just an option if the in-laws will drive into the city... there is no traffic.

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As a fellow refugee from Long Island, let me echo Mark's comments. Long Island should be left for summer trips to the beach or as a mere stopping off point for trips to the city. Stonybrook is much further out then where I grew up so I can't offer a local recommendation. I can, however, tell you someplace to stay far, far away from. Carltun on the Park at Eisenhower Park. It is enough of a known place that it could lure people from Mr. BLB's part of the island. I endured Thanksgiving there two years ago due to my parents' kitchen remodel not being done. The food was bland, overcooked, and service blew. Four hours for a two choice per course set menu. The other diners ranged from old dudes with flashy younger (much younger) women, groups from area nursing homes, and large family groups. The only saving grace for me was my parents' surprise at how bad it was because they've had many good meals there. Had their previous meals been that bad I would have had to refuse to let them pick restaurants ever again.

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I grew up in Stony Brook, but left the area for good before really getting into food.

However, I feel I should stick up a bit for Long Island. For instance, you can usually get a pretty darned good slice of pizza in just about any strip mall. Same goes for bagels (Strathmore Bagels in Setauket had great bagels, sandwiches and smears when I was there). And delis. Go to a deli and order a coffee and a buttered roll.

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Had lunch today at Grand Lux Cafe brought to you by the same people who brought you the Cheesecake Factory -- so said our menu as if it were a good thing. They have the same mediocre, but I'm sure very consistent, food. On the plus side, they did ask if we wanted lunch-sized portions so we didn't have to have a salad that could feed 4. I had had dental work and my mouth was still numb so I needed something easy to chew and went with the chopped salad. I asked them to go light on the dressing because I hate gloppy salad and they said they always do. If that was how they normally dress their salads then they do indeed employ a light hand. The sourdough bread served with the salad had a very thick, crispy crust and was served quite hot. The butter was ice cold. Sticking the butter dish in the bread basket solved that.

The one obvious difference from the parent restaurant? The decor that earned the place the name. It is so over the top with frills and gilding that it is visually distracting when you are trying to focus on your meal and dining companions.

This one was in NY but I'm sure it'll be coming soon to a town near you.

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I confess complete ignorance of all things Long Island. We are spending a few days next week on Shelter Island with the family. Dinners are mostly taken care of, but where can we go for some lunches while we explore the area (Shelter Island itself and probably East Hampton one day)? We're planning on taking bikes with us; any recommendations for North Fork wineries to visit as a break on a long ride?

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When I visit Long Island (I was born there, and my 86-year-old grandmother and a few other assorted family members still live there), I never expect to have any notable culinary experiences. Sure, I look forward to a decent bagel, a slice of NY pizza, and a black and white cookie, but other than that, I usually just try to grit my teeth and reward myself with something tasty when I return to DC.

This past weekend, however, after a particularly challenging day with my grandmother, my parents and I stumbled into what turned out to be a gem of a restaurant. It's called Almarco, and it's located on Wall Street in the village of Huntington.

Upon entering, we were told it would be a 10-15 minute wait for a table (it's a small place). No worries--we sat at the bar, and the hostess/bartender provided tastes of all of their red wines so that I could make a decision. She also made my parents two REALLY good martinis, and she was incredibly friendly and helpful.

When we were seated, a basket of hot, fresh focaccia bread appeared--I didn't taste the dipping oil (which looked like it was spiked with fresh rosemary), but the bread was very good. We ordered two appetizers: the bruschetta trio and the stuffed mushrooms. The latter were pretty standard (but tasty), but the former was really lovely. One piece had a more traditional tomato topping, though it also had diced cucumbers and a nice citrus kick (very refreshing). The second piece had roasted red and yellow peppers, with a hint of balsamic. My favorite was the white bean and garlic topping, which was hearty yet very light-tasting.

In terms of entrees, my dad had walnut-crusted tilapia with wilted garlic spinach and creamy rice--the fish was perfectly cooked and had great flavor, and the sides were well done. Mom went for her favorite, the veal scallopini, which must have been delicious because she ate every last bite (I'm not a huge veal fan, so I didn't try any). Even though I was originally going to try something lighter, the server raved about the gnocchi (with basil pesto), so my arm was twisted. It. Was. AMAZING. Seriously. Not only was the pesto light and flavorful, the gnocchi was the softest, fluffiest, most melt-in-your-mouth version I've ever had. Worth every calorie.

With two martinis, three glasses of cabernet, a double espresso, and all of the aforementioned food, the pre-tip total came out to about $120. The service was great, and we left Almarco oodles happier than we ever thought we would (and certainly much more relaxed than when we entered). Long Island may not be a great food destination, but it's nice to know that I can have a delicious Italian meal when I go back to my hometown.

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Despite Mr. Slaters legitimate spurn of Wrong Island, consider

Mirabelle in St. James

Kitchen, a Bistro in St. James

Next to the Curry Club in Stony Brook there used be a small place where the classically trained opera singer/chef would come out and sing tunes

La Plage in Wading River

North Fork Table and Inn in Southhold (Gerry Hayden-formerly Aureole and Claudia Flemming -Grammercy Tavern)

The Island gets better as you move out east.

Kitchen has moved to the old Mirabelle space! And is supposed to be better than ever...

My family also really likes the sushi at Kotobuki in Hauppauge.

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My wife and I are moving out to the North Fork of Long Island in October. While it is difficult to say goodbye to a city and metro area I have called home since basically I was 6, we couldn't be more excited to move out to a place we have come to love.

We will keep you all posted on the places to eat and drink up there...as well as the happenings of friend Poivrot Farci.

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21 hours ago, Jonathan said:

My wife and I are moving out to the North Fork of Long Island in October. While it is difficult to say goodbye to a city and metro area I have called home since basically I was 6, we couldn't be more excited to move out to a place we have come to love.

We will keep you all posted on the places to eat and drink up there...as well as the happenings of friend Poivrot Farci.

We'll miss you dude! Is Julien still at North Fork Table & Inn?

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6 minutes ago, Pool Boy said:

We'll miss you dude! Is Julien still at North Fork Table & Inn?

No, Julien is working at 8 Hands Farm in Cutchogue as they are startung to expand their offerings in their farm store. 

They have built a beautiful kitchen and butchering space in the barn as well as a killer trailer with a smoker, pressure fryer and more parked on the farm.

the farm has sheep, chickens for eggs and roasters, pigs and a beautiful organic garden.

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1 hour ago, Jonathan said:

No, Julien is working at 8 Hands Farm in Cutchogue as they are startung to expand their offerings in their farm store. 

They have built a beautiful kitchen and butchering space in the barn as well as a killer trailer with a smoker, pressure fryer and more parked on the farm.

the farm has sheep, chickens for eggs and roasters, pigs and a beautiful organic garden.

Well he must be in heaven!

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21 hours ago, Jonathan said:

My wife and I are moving out to the North Fork of Long Island in October. While it is difficult to say goodbye to a city and metro area I have called home since basically I was 6, we couldn't be more excited to move out to a place we have come to love.

We will keep you all posted on the places to eat and drink up there...as well as the happenings of friend Poivrot Farci.

Congrats.  Its beautiful.  What are you gonna do in the winters?

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1 hour ago, DaveO said:

Congrats.  Its beautiful.  What are you gonna do in the winters?

Our goal is to open up a small pizzeria, so we will most likely be open all winter. 

We had a deal fall through on a pizzeria in Mattituck that was right next to the high school and seemed to do well enough during the off-season.

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16 hours ago, Jonathan said:

Our goal is to open up a small pizzeria, so we will most likely be open all winter. 

We had a deal fall through on a pizzeria in Mattituck that was right next to the high school and seemed to do well enough during the off-season.

Good luck.  Find another location.  Having grown up in Northern NJ where good pizzeria's were ubiquitous;  I strongly believe there is always room for another great pizzeria.  Plus, while I've visited the North Fork a good bit, but never lived there...it would seem to me to be a great place to settle in.  Again...good luck.

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The failing, frail, Ol' Grey Lady (not Flo-Fab) has a scoop on the agricultural livestock renaissance of sorts going on out on North Fork, which might bump up their readership. Quite a few organic farmers growing top shelf produce and exceptional seafood as well -though less abundant than yesteryear.

A few roses in one of the state’s thorny Trump patches.

 

 

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